Quartzite, Az.

Quartzite, Az.

Quartzite, Az.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

We, as in "mi chica" and I, must be gluttons for punishment. Yesterday she called me to let me know that my daughter in law had 28 free passes to go watch a special advance screening for the movie "Bee Movie" and like the awesome dynamic duo that we are and aided by our daughter Michelle took all (yes, you heard it correctly), all six grand kids including our 2 month old one plus a little stow away that has adopted us as his grandparents.

Even though the show was a 7:00 p.m. we left early to insure that we could all seat together, the theater was all the way in Scottsdale which is a good 25 miles from home and we were to drive during rush hour. We got there almost an hour early and made the line and we still didn't get back seats but at least we were able to sit together. As we took our seats this young boy of about nine or ten year old asked me if we were a "class", "These are all my grand kids" I told him, he just looked at me and said "Jeez mister".

We were all given little antennas to wear on our heads, it was kindda cute in a creepy way to see everyone at the theater wearing them, the press was there too, ready with pens and or personal recorders to prepare for their reviews. Will it be thumbs up or thumbs down? We'll just have to wait and see.

It's no secret anymore that cartoon movies are more successful than people movies nowadays and I think that this one has good potential, it's definitely cartoony enough for the kids, the graphics are great and the colors vivid, but it also has some grown up jokes that most kids won't get. Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Chris Rock, and the rest of the cast provide many funny moments with the dialog.

The premise of the movie is simple, a talking bee (actually bees do talk but they are forbidden to talk to humans, of course Barry brakes the rule) falls in love with a human girl named Vanessa (yeap, they do touch on interracial relationships) while at the same time sues humans for "stealing" their honey.

Our little unofficial poll told us that the kids did like the movie, and we "grown ups" but kids at heart enjoyed it too.

So on the scale from one to five, one being the lowest I give it a... who cares! Don't let me tell you weather the movie is good or bad, just grab the kiddies and haul them to the theater. I know, "B" movies are supposed to suck, but this "bee" movie has good potential.

Monday, October 29, 2007

You will need more than one hand to count have many grand kids stayed at our house over the weekend. Not one, not two, nor three or four, not even five but six, yes all of our six grand kids were with us this weekend. When I woke up the first thing my chica said even before she said good morning was, "Are you sure you want to come out".

Truth is I love every single one of them, and for the most part they brighten my life. It's a joy to walk into the house and have them run to me saying "Grandpa, grandpa" and then they will change the song to "my grandpa" no "my grandpa" says the other one, they still don't know the concept of "Sharing is caring" but they are learning.

So I prepared myself mentally to do what I do best, block them off my mind. Kids are kids and will run, scream, jump, laugh, cry and do all other sorts of things when they are around you and they need to blow some steam before we start telling them to stop. Once upon a time "mi chica" and I used to have a nice looking house but that sort of changed, however what's more important a house or the kids. Well, I don't know in your world, but in mine I take the kids.

So between a few "shut ups" and "quiet downs" and the occasional "time out" we survived the weekend with no casualties, my son and his wife came back from their weekend vacation and were ready to face the kids again with renewed vigor. I'm certainly going to miss them when they are gone. In the meantime I continue to enjoy them.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Today is a special day in 'mi chica's" and my life. Today is our 26th Wedding Anniversary and we couldn't be happier. We have no special plans other than to be with each other and to vow for many more years of happiness to come.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Halloween came early this year. Yeap! my sister in law decided to host a Halloween party last Saturday. It was a small intimate family oriented party with a couple of her friends. Even though we all had fun the party winners were the kids.

She had plenty of games and prices for them, the rule was that everyone had to be in costume. The kids played musical chairs, relay races, toss the bean bag and a plethora of similar games were played.

I made one of my fabulous salsas to be eaten with chips, ummmmmmm, que rico! We had pizza, and for dessert home made cupcakes.

If you know me a little by now, then you'll know that I take a family gathering over any other type of party in a heart beep. I'm sure there will be additional Hallowing postings eventually as my "comadre" is hosting another party but this one geared towards adults (no kids accepted) on this one. But for now here are some of the pictures from Saturday. I hope you like them.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

It's been a long time since I posted an email, this one is just so true that even if you've already seen it you'll smile again when you read it.

POSITION :Mom, Mommy, Mama, MaDad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an, often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you

Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

Monday, October 15, 2007

On Sunday morning "mi chica" kindda woke me up and "invited" me to breakfast. We decided to go to this cool breakfast place called TJ's in old Avondale. While on our way to the restaurant I noticed that there was a "Hot Rod" carshow and told "mi chica" we must come back and check out the rides after we have breafast.

I had a Denver Omelette and she had the French pankcakes or something like that, all I know is that they were good, however one of TJs best features is their coffee. We must have had three cups each with our breakfast.

Now on a full stomach and with time to kill, We went to check out the cars. I must have photographed about 85% of the cars on display but I am only going to show you some of them here. If you appreciate cars at all then you'll appreciate these.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

My daughter had told me that the local fire department which is only about a two minute drive or five minute walk from out house was having their annual open house. We went two years ago and it is always a fun time. You get to see all their trucks and even seat on them all the while you can have the kids play games while you are also being fed some delicious hamburgers and hot dogs. There is no shortage of action, from the clown walking around taking pictures with a big spongy camera to a singing fire man singing all kinds kids songs about safety and fire awareness.

Taking pictures was a highlight for me, there was just so much to photograph there that I felt like a kid in a candy store.

A few minutes later my other daughter her husband and grandson also joined us at the fire station. They too had some tasty burgers and refreshments and then it was off to get some desert. The had plenty of ice cream, popsicles and ice cream sandwich cookies to go around.Without a doubt one of the highlights of the outing was that Diego and Alayna got to dress as fire fighters. You should have seen Diego's smile while he was being assisted by two REAL FIREFIGHTERS. Boots, pants, jacket, head protective mask, breathing, mask and finally his helmet. He though he was BAD and enjoyed every minute of it. Alayna only got the boots and the jacket but she was like now that I'm dressed I think I'll just go. Yeah, she wanted to take the gear home with her.

First went the pants, and then followed by the boots. Look grandpa I am starting to look like a fireman.

Then the jacket, masks and helmet also made it. Look grandpa, now for real I look like a real fire fighter.As I said, I could go on and on, sometimes the best things in life are free. They smiled so much that I believe that an amusement park would not have had the same effect. Alayna even cried when we started to leave she wanted to stay and have some more fun, but us grown up party poopers rained on their parades and brought them home.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

What do you do when you are at your mom's enjoying some home made tostadas and your phone rings and it's your favorite sister in law calling to let you know that her husband just scored not one or two nor three or four, well actually not five or six and not even seven but (drum roll playing here) EIGHT tickets to the first playoff game at Chase Stadium, the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. The Rockies?

Wow, that was one long question wasn't it? Well if you say eat your tostadas pretty fast and hurry home to pick up your "chica" and grand kid then you are right. I got home and it only took us about ten minutes to be on the road. Considering we were late and all the parking lots were full, not to mention that they gouched the prices to $20.00 where they normally charge $5.00, I told "mi chica" to drive a couple of blocks away from the stadium to see if we could find something. About five blocks away we found one space left against a company loading dock that was closed so we parked there and it didn't cost a thing.

We started walking towards the stadium when one of the bicycle guys told us he would take us, as you know they work for tips only so when we reached the stadium I gave him my only bill I had which happened to be a $20.00, I told him to keep five but he pretended not to find enough change so winded up keeping eight. Considering the parking was free and we got to the gate when the third inning was about to start I just told him thanks and we went on his marry way.

To get to our seats (keep in mind these were free tickets) we had to go through two sets of escalators and then 108 (yeap, I counted the suckers) steps to get to our seats. Did anybody say nose bleed? I'm telling you these seats were the third row from the very top. After about 75 steps or so, both "mi chica" and I were totally out of breath. These steps are very steep, a second smaller brake before finally reaching our destination and we were finally seated. My sister in law, was prepared and gave us a bottle of water which I think we drank like in two sips.

Yes, those little tiny puny dots on the field are in fact PLAYERS.

It was an uneventful game, yes the Diamondback was losing and tempers were flaring when in the seven inning a controversial (or not) call caused irritation on the local fans and lots of debree found its way into the field. The constant booing and bottle throwing forced the teams to leave the field for about 10 minutes, the noise just never died down, luckily being so high up we didn't get the worst of it. For a minute there I thought the term nose bleed was going to be taken literally.

Diego went on his second game and he had a great time. The only other time he had been to the stadium was about two years ago, so this time he enjoyed it a little bit more. After carpeting the floor with a nice cover of sun flower seeds and peanut shells we decided to start making our way towards the exit. They announced that it was a sell out but I still saw many empty seats. It was nice to see the stadium full again, so let's hope that tomorrow we even the score so that we don't go to Colorado with a deficit.

All in all we had a great time, and the best part was that it was all free, how can you beat that?

Nino! While my daddy concentrates on the game, my brother pretends he is watching, my mom makes faces at the players, just take a picture of me, yeah that's the ticket, I'll pose for you.

Sitting here and enjoying one of my mom's home made burritos I was just reflecting on how lucky I am to have a mom and a wife that are pretty much the best cooks in my world.

See, once upon a time "mi chica" didn't know how to cook. When we were newlyweds and we lived with my mom for a little while she asked her to teach her. My mom said all you need to do is come into the kitchen when I'm here cooking and you'll see how fast you'll learn. "Mi chica" did just that and in no time she was cooking everything my mom was cooking. I do not exaggerate when I say that the student surpassed the teacher because to this day "mi chica" cooks the best meals around. For every recipe my mom gave her, she added her own little twist making it a little different thus creating a new variation of an already good tasting dish.

Cooking is one of the things that keeps my mom active these days and that's why I eat at her house three days out of the week and sometimes even on weekends. "Mi chica" too loves cooking and claims that it actually relaxes her. She can whip out some good stuff in a matter of minutes. So to say that I am in food heaven is an understatement.

I think my mom look forward to cooking for me only because there's no food she cooks that I don't like, same goes for "mi chica". Now they want to put me on a diet because I have a big belly. Yeah, right! Easier said than done.

Like in the movie "Fields of Dreams" my motto is "If you cook it, I will eat". Thank you mi baby and thank you mom for keeping me and my belly happy.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

No two blogs are alike, that's why I read them all the same way. First I get busy reading and then analyzing the post contents. Some I read from top to bottom, and some I may just peruse over, and then I determine weather mine can improve based on what I read on other blogs.

The idea to improve the next post always seems to slip off my hands, it is a challenge to sit and write and hope you'll read. That's why so many of us partner with each other by swapping URLs, this way I know at least someone will read what I have written, this way I doesn't really matter weather my posts have improved or not.

Over the past year, I have seen many of you disappear and many of you that are still here have defined what your blogs are about, what I see is that there is a variety out there that keeps my brain asking for more. It won't be rare for me to wonder what someone wrote about today, some of you pick up where you left off on the last post, and some just post a plethora of posts that have nothing in common, and further more some of you have taken to write mini series while others just joke and write nonsense, and you know what, in my book it's all good.

The beauty of all this is that with some many different styles there will always be something that draws a smile or a tear, and that's what makes it all worth while, so I guess the bottom line to this post is... that there's no bottom line, I didn't know what to write about so I just started writing and this is the end result.

It doesn't matter what you write just write. I know I have at least one #1 fan... me!

Thursday, October 04, 2007

82 degrees forested for Saturday, yey finally nice weather visits Phoenix, it won't be too long now and we'll be getting cold. Here in Phoenix fall skips us every year. For now we'll take advantage of this beautiful weather and just enjoy it.

If my motorcycle was running I would be riding to work at least twice a week, but for now it remains parked in my garage awaiting patiently for me to have the little extra money to have it serviced and ready to go. It doesn't seem it will happen anytime soon this year but hopefully soon. For now I just see those who are riding and think "lucky fools".

OK so I'm typing this post as I watch my Diamonbacks play the Cubs on the second game, now if you know anything about Phoenix teams the are known to blow a good lead on the last inning, or two minute warning, I came to the conclusion that if I watch the games they will lose so I am changing the channel and let them win in peace. I'll go back to it soon.

So, I'll take this opportunity to let you all know that my niece will be a year old this Saturday and obviously we will be going to her birthday party. It seems it was only yesterday when she came into this world and now a whole year has passed.

Checking on the baseball game,it shows one out and two more to go with runners on first and second, ummm I think I'll change it again and come back to it later.

Anybody, anytime is the new Diamondback's motto, that's all you hear this days and it seems to be working, last time I went to a baseball game not too long ago the stadium looked lonely, even at 50,000 in attendance it looked pitiful. All of a sudden a fan appear out of nowhere.

Hey, news flash the Diamonback just took the second game and will go now to the windy city to try to seal the deal there. Ever since I moved to Phoenix I adopted all the local teams and I have remained loyal (yeah, it's a little hard as they lose a lot)to them. I actually am glad when they win or when at least they beat a team I don't like.

Looking forward to a nice Friday, I will be running on a skeleton crew at work which should make my work Friday go really fast, and then we will start enjoying this great weather and the upcoming weekend.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

A dear friend of mine asked me to be his best man at his wedding. I had never been a best man so needless to say I was an honored to be asked. So "mi chica" and I only worked for a half a day yesterday so that we could go to the court to be there.

I also had never been to a wedding at a court house so I though it would be boring. It all started with the judge kicking us all out of his court room, no he wasn't mean or disrespectful, he actually was nice about explaining to us that promptly at 5:00 p.m. he would start officiating. He told us that because every body's wedding was special and different he would start calling one wedding party at at time, that way he would be able to personalize each wedding accordingly.

My friend and fiancee were the first ones to be called in. The judge said each ceremony was about 12 minutes long, he lied because it was more like fifteen. He said that while we were in there we were free to walk all over the courtroom, no place was off limits so that pictures could be taken. That right there was surprising to me. The judge was probably in his late fifties but he had a really good sense of humor, he spent a good portion of the time cracking jokes.

So we came out of that courtroom with smiles on our faces. Who would have known that a court wedding could actually be enjoyed. Out of five or six couples to be married our friends were the only ones dressed for the occasion for which the judge thank them.

Once out the bride's daughter and her fiancee wrote "Just married" all over their car's rear window, and also the word "Honk". We went to their house after the ceremony for some food and drinks and a couple of hours later we said our good byes and went home.

And so that was my first wedding on a weekday at a court house. So my best wishes for a long happy life together goes to the newlyweds.